Composing an Essay Body Paragraph in APA Format

An essay is a very popular type of school assignment. It consists of several paragraphs; including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The supervisor usually asks students to use a certain style, e.g. the APA style. There are plenty of resources that teach how to compose and format introductory and conclusive paragraphs. However, do you know what is important to keep in mind when you are working on the main part of the essay?

Write the draft version first.

Since you have finished the introduction, start writing sentences to support your thesis statement. Organize your ideas and make certain that each paragraph is devoted to a single idea. Give several details and some explanations, but do not overburden the essay with comments. The reader should not feel confused and overwhelmed.

Check if all the elements are correct.

An effective paragraph should have a single focus. In other words, one major point of the discussion should be provided. Connectedness is another important element that makes the text easy to understand and follow. Use the same key words and various transition expressions to link concepts to the sentences. One of them should indicate the main idea of the paragraph; it is often placed at the beginning. Then, several other sentences develop the topic sentence and describe the idea in detail.

Have the proper APA formatting.

Learn from an APA manual or study online tips, and follow the formatting directions.

Choose a word processor. The most popular one that includes an APA template is Microsoft Word.

The paper size is A4.

All the margins are 1 inch.

Use Times New Roman font 12 pt.

The spacing is 1.5 throughout the body paragraphs.

The indentation is 5 spaces.

The space is put after a colon, period, semicolon, exclamation, and question marks.

The periods and commas are placed inside the quotation marks.

The text should be left aligned.

The author-date style is used for in-text citations.

Proofread the body paragraph and rectify the mistakes.

When you are done with the formatting, it is a good idea to take your time and proofread the essay. Check the grammar and spelling, try to make sentences simple and clear, and avoid double meaning. If you have any doubts about APA style rules, find a manual or visit the university writing center to ask an instructor. You will learn a good technique and improve your writing skills.